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AN 

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©RATION ' ,. 

ON THE * '•- 

DEATH OF GEORGE CLUs'TOX, 

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LATE """"" 

VICE PRESIDENT 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

DELIVERED EEFOBS THE 

GEORGE CMNTON SOCIETY. 
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On the 20th of May, 1812. 



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By ELBERT HERRING. Esq. 



NEW-YORK: 

PRINTED BY • PELSUE AND GOULD, 

No. 3, Ne^-street. 






E~ 302 

CifHs 



AT a stated meeting of the George Clinton So- 
ciety, held at Union Hotel, the 2 1st inst. the fol- 
lowing resolutions were unanimously adopted. 
Resolved, that the thanks of this society be 
given to Elbert Herring, Esq. for his eloquent 
and patriotic oration delivered at the request of 
the society, on the evening of the 20th instant. 

Resolved, that Walter Osgood, Charles Dick- 
inson, jun. and John M Kensie be a committee to 
inform him of the preceding resolution. 



AN ORATION 



Fellow Citizens, 

Behold us collected to deplore our common 
bereavement. Private avocations and private 
grief suspend to bow in deep and general sorrow 
over the tomb, where rests a father of his Coun- 
try. That frame is now inanimate, which lately 
contained a spirit, that courted peril in its Coun- 
try's cause, and feared its God alone. That arm 
is nerveless, which bore the sword of victory, 
when the Enemy furled his Standard, and with- 
drew from our shores his diminished legion,?. 
Bend over the grave where Clinton lies, ye aged 
Sires ! his prowess gave you safety. Bend over 
the Hero's grave, ye Youth ! he was the Cham- 
pion of your freedom. Lamented Patriot ! a na- 
tion mourns thy death, a nation which thou hast 
benefited by thy counsel and protected by thy 
valor. Thy memory lives, and when eyes now 
filled with tears are quenched in death, and hearts 
now sunk in grief moulder in the dust, thy glory 
shall survive to inflame future ages with admira- 
tion of thy heroic deeds, with emulation of thy 
exalted virtues. 



We have met to testify our respect and our sor- 
row for departed worth ; an occasion ol such gen- 
eral concern as to strike the chord, which con- 
nects our individual with our national sympa- 
thies. Another star, that presided over the Rev- 
olution which gave our Country Freedom, has 
disappeared from our Hemisphere, drawn to its 
parent source of light and Glory. A kindred 
gloom invests our hearts while we observe the 
space once illumined by its lustre, now wrapt in 
darkness. But let us bow in submission to the 
will of Heaven, and chasten our sorrow by the 
reflection, that the life which has terminated, was 
spent in usefulness ; and let us sooth our affliction 
by a recital of the achievements and the virtues 
which stamped the hero and formed, the patriot. 

The illustrious man, whose decease has called 
forth these testimonials of affectionate sorrow, 
was entitled in an eminent degree to the regard 
of his fellow-citizens. Undissembling and unas- 
suming, his manners were a transcript of his mind, 
denoting that genuine simplicity, peculiarly a- 
dapted to republican character. More intent on 
performance than on profession, his words left 
no impression of dubiousness, but seemed to par- 
take of action as they flowed from his lips, and 
to give form and body to the subject of discourse. 
There was nothing t v ive, ambiguous, or subtle, 
in his public or private deportment. His frank- 



Hess resulted from a love of truth, which was 
conspicuous in all his actions. His modest de- 
portment proceeded from natural feelings, and 
was cherished by just perceptions of its suitable- 
ness. Conversant with affairs of state, and ex- 
alted in political station, he retained a courteous 
and unaffected freedom of demeanor, that made 
him accessible to all who sought his intercourse, 
and released from restraint the meanest capacity 
and the lowest degree. His habits were untaint- 
ed by voluptuousness, unstained by luxury, and 
in conjunction with many original traits, caused 
him strongly to resemble the eminent men in the 
early period of Roman history, whose pure mor- 
als and ardent love of country have procured 
them the admiration of all succeeding times. 
The transactions in which he participated, were 
of a nature peculiarly interesting, and brought 
his qualities and endowments into broad light and 
intimate acquaintance, while the conspicuous 
and important part he bore in them, identified 
him with the most splendid and beneficent event 
in the annals of nations — the establishment of a 
republic founded on the rights of man. 

The deceased patriot was a native of the State 
of New. York, to whose interests he dihplayed 5 
through the whole course of his life, a devoted 
attachment; evincing the prevalence of tho?e sym~ 
pathies which endear birthplace ; and whose wei- 



6 

fare he cultivated with so much ability and sue- 
cess, as justly to acquire him the title of its politi- 
cal father. 

j Before the era of our independence, he was a 
member of the assembly under the colonial gov- 
ernment. Severe contests concerning the prero- 
gatives of the crown agitated that popular branch 
of the legislature, and at that period he stood 
forth conspicuous as the defender of the rights of 
the people. In that field of controversy, what 
could they expect to reap, who opposed the en- 
croachments of power, but the reproach of con- 
forming advocates, the resentment of petty ty- 
rants, and the persecution of profligate ministers? 
But virtuous minds are not retarded in the per- 
formance of duty by calculations of loss, or esti- 
mates of exposure ; and Clinton, associated with 
a few others who cherished the holy flame of free- 
dom in their breasts, firmly and boldly contested 
the claims of kingly authority, detected the insi- 
dious purposes of usurpation, and rescued our 
chartered privileges from the grasp of tyranny. 
At length a mad experiment of the British parlia- 
ment, in contempt of justice, and in violation of 
right, excited by a spirit of domination, regard- 
less of reason as impatient of forms, which put 
the first principles of civil government at the 
mercy of treasury acquisitions, and subjected 
Magna Charta to the jurisdiction of a stamp sys- 
tem, terminated the relations of colony and parent 



country, and produced the war of independence. 
Then first the American eagle expanded its wing 
and directed its flight towards the sun; then first 
the genius of freedom consecrated the shores of 
Columbia, and opened an asylum for persecuted 
man. 

The energies of Clinton now expanded them- 
selves into dimensions proportionate to the sphere 
of action that opened on their view, and recog- 
nized their own power in the perspicacity, which 
discerned the extent of the trial, and in the ardor 
which prompted the encounter. The clouds, 
which had for some time before hovered over the 
political atmosphere, gloomy and portentous, now 
burst in thunder, and the menacing indications 
settled in the temper's fury. Assure your hearts, 
Columbia's children! 'tis not a transient storm! 
The fierce contention of the elements shall endure 
and try your fortitude with cruel sufferings. Con- 
firm your valor, ye champions of liberty ! the con- 
test will be long and bloody, before the swords, 
that glitter in her cause, shall rest upon her altar. 
Unnumbered sighs shall virgins heave, unnumber- 
ed pangs shall parents feel ; widows shall wail and 
orphans weep, and want shall pinch and desola- 
tion spread around, before the star of peace rises 
from beneath the eastern wave on the chosen land 
of freedom. 

The war of the revolution now commenced, 
and Clinton, who had vindicated his country's 



rights in the senate, flew to arms to protect them 
in the field. The United States presented at that 
time a singular, but a glorious spectacle : a people 
unused to battle, undisciplined and unarmed, op. 
posing their naked breast to veteran legions under 
the conduct of skilful and experienced generals. 
Our land had not become, through the medium 
of military operations, the scene of emprize and 
the school of war. Military tactics were little un- 
derstood, because little wanted ; and a firelock 
and cartridge box were reckoned by the inhabit- 
ants, the only requisites of the soldier. History 
will tell with wonder, and posterity hear with 
pride, the undismayed spirit and the unsubdued 
courage of our pa -iot soldiei '/ ; their patient en- 
durance of hunger ana of nakedness amid the in- 
clemency of seasons and the fatigues of service ; 
their heroic achievements under hardships and 
sufferings without a parallel. But they fought 
for their firesides and families, and the God of 
armies approved their cause and led them to vic- 
tory. 

The colony of New York, having declared it- 
self an independent state, Clinton was elected by 
the suffrages of his fellow citizens to the chief ma- 
gistracy, which embraces under our constitution, 
the supreme investment of its military and civil 
authority. This station, though honorable and 
highly illustrative of the confidence reposed in his 



abilities and integrity, was subjected by the crisis 
to peculiar responsibility and peril, and required 
more than an ordinary exercise of firmness, intel- 
ligence and valor. But when duty called, he ever 
held danger in contempt ; and it was a maxim 
with him, that his country not only had a claim 
on his services, but a right to life itself in her de- 
fence. His was the courage of a mind zealous of 
right, and disciplined to virtue ; that surveyed 
hazard without dread, and danger without dis- 
may. In the camp and in the cabinet, he equally 
evinced a composure and self possession, that be- 
spoke a reliance on his own powers to meet oc- 
curring exigency, and preparation for any event 
that might befall. He beheld an incensed monarch 
proscribing him as a rebel; he beheld hostile ar- 
mies spreading around, and the territory under 
his government becoming the theatre of war. 
With an observing eye, but tranquil spirit, he saw 
the storm rolling on : he put himself and his coun- 
try on the protection of heaven, and calmly await- 
ed its approach. Wise as Cato in counsel, brave 
as Leonidas in battle, but happier than those pat- 
riot heroes in destiny, his mind devised the policy 
adapted to the crisis, and his arm assisted in exe- 
cution. A system of defence, commensurate to 
the occasion in the fullest extent of attainable 
means, was constantly set in motion. His pre- 
sence inspired confidence; his activity prompted 



dispatch, his ingenuity suggested expedients, till 
all the arduous preparations of conflicting war, 
embattled troops, munitions and entrenchments 
started on the sight, and returned the note of 
proud defiance. Washington viewed with admi- 
ration this sudden developement of martial ener- 
gies, and acknowledged with cordial approbation 
the benefits conferred by Clinton on the sacred 
cause which Washington alone could have guided 
with safety and crowned with success. But sa. 
cred as was that cause, and bold and fearless as 
were the heroes who inscribed their names on its 
banners, attesting to conquer or die, it was con- 
demned to the probation of peril and disaster. 
The annals of those days depict in mournful 
phrase, the encompassed and discomfited state of 
the American arms. Never was so unequal a 
contest maintained during a period of gloom, and 
under insuperable difficulties. Ever green be the 
sod that covers the mouldering remains of the de- 
fenders of his country, who fought her battles 
with noble constancy, when the green sod alone 
appeared to be the earnest of her service, and the 
meed of her requital. 

The concerns of civil functions mingled with 
the cares of the camp, and demanded of Clinton 
intenseness of application and incessant mental 
exertion. The executive charge of a state, new 7 - 
ly born to independence, invaded by a vengeful 



11 



foe, and sustaining within its confines a numerous 
body devoted to the ancient jurisdiction of kingly 
authority, was arduous, toilsome and not unfre- 
quently afflicting. It called for the unceasing ef- 
forts of wisdom in exploring the untrodden paths 
of legislation suited to the crisis ; for the habitual 
exercise of discretion, in determining the mean 
betwixt clemency and vigor, adapted to the way- 
ward habits of warfare ; for the constant display 
of firmness to resuscitate the decaying efficacy of 
the laws, to infuse a suitable dread of their pen- 
alties, grown lax in the commotions of the revo- 
lution, and to keep in subjection the spirit of re- 
volt, always restless, always active. How well 
he acquitted himself in discharging the duties of 
his station, the tranquil course of his government, 
unmarked by any stretch of prerogative, untaint. 
ed by a single instance of abuse of power, admi- 
rably manifests. The sovereignty of the laws 
afforded protection and quiet, and war waved its 
banners in obedience to the sceptre of justice. 

At length the struggle of arms terminated suc- 
cessfully for American freedom, and the genius 
of Great Britain, deploring the folly and wicked- 
ness of its cabinet councils, affixed with a sigh 
her signet to the treaty, that acknowledged the 
independence of the United States. Peace re- 
sumed her benignant reign, and assured to agri- 
culture the harvest of its labor, and to commerce 



12 



the profits of its enterprize. The horn of plenty 
diffused around the blessings of abundance and of 
health. As the ploughshare furrowed the fields, 
where battles had been fought, the husbandman 
would pause in mournful regard over human 
bones, mouldering in the earth, victor and van- 
quished commingling in the clod, then bless the 
heavens for peace and liberty. 

The government of this state, which had been 
so ably conducted by Clinton during the revolu- 
tion, was again confided to his administration ; 
and repeated trials of the elective franchise prov- 
ed him the favorite, as he was the friend of the 
people. His claims on their esteem did not rest 
upon shining qualities, that dazzle to blind, nor 
upon ingenious systems of civil policy, whose fun- 
damental principles, true in the abstract, are fal- 
lacious in their application to human affairs. He 
was the practical statesman, sound in judgment, 
prompt in execution, determined in purpose. He 
had not studied the metaphysics of politics, nor 
did his genius ever expatiate in the subtleties of 
logic, or the refinements of philosophy : but the 
morality of politics was as familiar to him, as the 
debates of the senate, or the conflict of the field. 
The domestic relations of a government, he well 
knew, were to be protected by the constitution 
and the laws ; and its foreign relations, he equally 
well knew, reposed round the sublime base of 



13 



national power, accoutred in armor, determined 
on right. 

The adoption of the federal constitution, hav- 
ing connected by a golden chain, the several state 
sovereignties in an union of interests, of objects, 
and of power, behold a commonwealth of free' 
states and of free citizens, entering on the career 
of empire, embarking on the political sea, where 
ambition and lawless power, the thirst of domina- 
tion, the cupidity of gain, the desire or the fear of 
conquest produce unceasing agitation. Such is 
the condition of this world, that the best inten- 
tions of acting rightly are often overruled by the 
follies or the crimes of others. The American 
republic has already, in its short experience, en- 
countered this evil in the constitution of things, 
and finds an appeal to arms necessary to support 
those rights which its arms had before acquired. 

Clinton, venerable in years, though unimpaired 
in faculties, had administered for several years 
the second office in the federal government, 
which gained respect from his name, and lustre 
from his character. His orb, which still glowed 
as it declined, seemed to rest as it approached the 
horizon, and to shine with a mellow and steady 
light; but it has sunk beneath the verging line 
of time, and quenched its rays in the illimitable 
ocean of eternity. Let our sorrows mourn the 



14 



illustrious dead. Let gratitude and grief mingle 
their emotions,over the tomb of Clinton ! 

Greatness of character is to be appreciated by 
the ability and virtues displayed in conduct; but 
when the sphere of its action is dignified and en- 
nobled, and the occasions of its exercise are im- 
portant and illustrious, it then reflects superadded 
lustre. That perspicuity which taught Clinton 
to seize the critical moment, and to suit the means 
to the occasion; that sagacity which explored 
the range of probable conjunctures, and antici- 
pated their purposes; that fertility of invention, 
which developed expedients, and drew forth re- 
sources from new combinations; that nerve, 
which produced the firmness of the politician and 
the valor of the soldier; that natural probity, 
which invested right with divine sanction ; that 
unconquerable spirit of patriotism, that rushes on 
danger and death to serve its country ; these qual. 
ities would have ranked him among the nobility 
of nature, though thetenant of a hamlet and these 
qualities would have enabled him, had he been 
called to the charge, to guide the destinies of our 
republic safe amid contending nations, resplen- 
dent among empires. 

He is dead, and his country wears the habili- 
ments of grief. His race is run but he had 
reached the goal, where glory is the pme. His 
,ale is told, but it is one of enduring virtue, of 



I 



magnanimity and of heroism, that never remit- 
ted : whose excellent moral inculcates the noblest 
precepts and inspires the finest feelings, teaches 
disinterested love of country as the best quality 
of the citizen, and builds true greatness on the 
devotion of our endowments, and our actions to 
the service of virtue and the cause of freedom 
the genuine and beneficent interests of the hu 
man race. ilu 



FINIS, 



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Crjntulle Pa 
March Apr* 19gc 



